Lacrosse Playground recently had the opportunity to ask Under Armour All-American, Roger Ferguson, a few questions about fall ball, apparel, and his expectations for his freshman year at Brown University. Ferguson, a DC native, is not only one of the most highly touted defenseman in his class, but he is also coming off an impressive summer being named the MVP of the South team following the US Lacrosse National Senior Showcase at Bryant University on June 20. More after the jump…

Roger, what are you looking forward to the most this fall ball?
Just playing lacrosse again will be fun. In high school you have to wait all year for the spring time to come around and get competitive again. Now you are competing year round all the time. We are playing UNC in San Fran on October 10th which should be so much fun.

October 10th is almost around the corner. Are you all settled in to your new apparel?
Yeah, Maverick is one of our sponsors and so is Adidas. Both fit great and feel great so all the freshman recruits are very pumped. The gear also looks great so as the old adage goes “look good feel good, feel good play good.”

Do you have free reign of gear: heads, shafts, cleats?
We haven’t gotten anything yet because Coach Tiffany is all about “earning your gear.” Sounds silly but he is a great coach and it makes it easier for the freshman to know their place on the team for the first couple practices until we really get into the swing of things. Once we “make the team” we can get all the stuff which I can’t wait for.

That must make you pretty eager and excited for the spring since you’re not getting everything all at once. What head are you and your teammates looking forward to playing with the most?
We are getting 50 new “juice” heads from Maverick but I am actually using the newest proton. I have always used a proton and really can’t see myself playing with anything else. It’s the easiest head to deal with as a defense man because it generally is not too flimsy and also helps lay some lumber on middies and attack men

Since we’re on the topic of heads, how have the new 2010 have rule specs affected the game?
The game could end up being more about passing and catching with the new heads which would be great for the sport in my opinion. Speed and size will still be huge factors, but people won’t be able to cradle though 3 or 4 people anymore because their head is pinched. The game will go back to its roots, the way it should be played.

That’s an interesting outlook on the game. Being a Defenseman, do you think you have more of an advantage or disadvantage with the new heads and stringing adjustments?
Stringing is not a strong point of mine but it has not seemed to change the way players need to string. It may seem like a big deal because everyone has to change but in actuality it is very similar to the heads we used to use. It does give an edge back to the defense however because the ball can come out of the stick fairly easily compared to the older heads. The slight difference could result in a lot more strips and lower scoring games.

One might say that the rule changes were supported by old school coaches that were tired of high-powered teams running through their D without dropping the ball. Do you think coaches will complain if there is a higher turnover ratio compared to recent years?
I think coaches may just have to get used to players dropping the ball more often. Even if they are not ok with it, a rule is a rule so there is nothing they can do about it. I believe some coaches like Coach Tiffany (who played defense) likes the new standards for heads. It’s really a personal preference. Defense likes it, offense may not.

LPG wants to know how you will adjust to the new rules in 2010. Leave a comment below.